Gremlins
by Dragon34
Summary: Jazz and Zoe take a camping trip, but what sort scary stories would scare an Autobot.... Set during the epilogue of The Secrets of Sector Seven. Multi-verse. JazzxOC Rated M for smut in the second chapter.
1. Chapter 1

This story takes place during the epilogue of The Secrets of Sector Seven. I don't own the TF...if I did...I'd be rich, and I'd kick a certain directors creative heiny for killing off Jazz. Yup, I would.

* * *

"Ready to go boo?"

Zoe nodded and dropped the last bag onto a pile of several. "Yup."

Jazz groaned inwardly. Were all femmes the same? Did all femmes need to bring with them everything they owned everywhere they went, every time? Did she need that tent thing? How many pairs of socks did a human really need? Oh well…he sighed in resignation; I hope that it all fits. He had the smallest form other than Arcee.

She went on, despite his misgivings. "This camping trip is going to be fun. Transform so I can load you up ok?"

He was not so sure about that, but any time alone with Zoe was welcome. In addition, in light of the fact that she would be returning to Cybertron with the Orion crew, while he remained here on Earth, any time at all was a gift. He transformed and was glad that Optimus had given him these three days so the Orion crew could prep and Ratchet could modify the orbital bouncer for human use.

Ratchet had assuaged her fears about Roscoe and his store. He'd made it a priority to get both Bee's and Ironhide's holoforms up and running so they could, along with Jazz, help the elderly human in his store. After all, they were 'borrowing' his property for their base.

Roscoe hadn't taken kindly to the three 'boys' as he put it, and had slapped Ironhide's holoform on the back of the head after Ironhide shattered an entire crate of peanut butter, knocked over a shelf of wine, and nearly flooded out the backroom sink. After that, they had to keep Ironhide from retaliating with his cannons upon Roscoe's helpless pick-up. At that point, Optimus decreed that only Jazz or Bee help the human. Moreover, Jazz wondered if it had been Ironhide's clever plan all along to get out of the detail.

He held back a grunt of discomfort as Zoe forced his trunk closed, but within moments, they sped away on their trip.

Inside the car, Zoe settled back for the drive, and chatted away with Jazz about anything and everything that came up. It was so easy to talk to him and the conversation flowed so naturally. Even the silence was comfortable and relaxed. "So Jazz," she finally said. "I know we're headed to the Grand Canyon, but where exactly?"

"Well," he said. "According to a topography map, there is a place I think would be safe for us several miles south of Yaki point. I can climb down to the river from there, and most of the hikers would be heading north on the main trail, so we should be fairly isolated."

Zoe nodded and was quiet a moment, that sort of quiet that put Jazz a bit on edge. "Jazz, do you trust me?"

"You know that I do, boo."

"No, I mean _really_ trust me." She clarified.

Now more than a little apprehensive, he hesitated slightly. "…Of course, but…why? What's up?"

Zoe leaned forward towards the steering wheel and trailed her fingernails lightly across the dashboard, by the gauges; she knew they were a pulse point for him. In response, Jazz's engine revved a bit. "Well…" she drawled with a smile. "I want you to shut down for a while."

"Say what?"

"Ok Ok." The tone in his vocalize made her want to explain a bit more. "There is something I want to do for you. A surprise, but it will not work if you actually see it coming. So…I want you to shut-down for while and when you wake up, you'll see it."

As much as he trusted her, the thought of letting someone else control his body was weird, and not the good type of weird. It was something he'd never even considered in his sizeable lifetime. There were plenty of times he went to stasis in one place and woke up in another. Still it wasn't the same as letting someone possess your functions.

In his spark, he knew Zoe would never do anything to hurt him, embarrass him, or make him go against his code. It wasn't a matter of trust; it was a matter of letting go that not-so-irrational fear of losing control.

"…Zoe." Jazz said with a voice heavy with trepidation.

"Come on, Jazz, please? I promise you'll like it, and I'll make it up to you. Pleeeease?" She gave his dashboard her best puppy dog eyes.

A sigh escaped him them. It was hard for him to deny her anything, but… those eyes... "Alright," he conceded, finally. "And just how are you going to make it up to me?"

Zoe laughed and hugged the steering wheel. "Don't worry. You'll like that part too."

It was a bit over three hours later when they reached the highway turn off to Yaki, and the mid-morning sun was bright in a sky free from clouds. "Ok Jazz. Stop here."

Obediently he rolled to a stop on the deserted highway. "Is this where I power down?" He still had misgivings, but did his best to swallow those. Zoe nodded, still in the driver's seat, and gazed out the window at the beautiful Arizona scenery.

Suddenly she squealed as she felt a strong pair of arms encircle her waist and across her shoulder. They pulled her backwards against Jazz's holoform tightly. Her surprise quickly turned to a gasp as soft lips began to trail fire across the skin of her neck. "Jazz." She said breathlessly. Good grief, he even smelled good.

"Yes?" he said nonchalantly. Ratchet had mentioned how nice it felt to hug an organic, so different yet pleasant, and Jazz could now understand why. There was quite a bit of sensory exchange going on. He had felt her body before, many times, but it wasn't until just now that he realized, truly realized, just how supple she was.

When Jazz put his arms around her, Zoe couldn't help but go all soft and pliable against him. She wanted to melt against him and she thought she might do just that as he began to nip playfully at her neck. His left hand came up under her chin to caress the soft flesh at her throat, even as her head fell back against him. Her eyes fluttered shut and she wondered just where an alien robot had learned to manipulate an organic body so well.

"All My Children." He said, reading her unspoken question. "Optimus watches it regularly. They do a lot of this sort of thing on that program." When she giggled a bit, he nibbled at her again, and it turned into another sharp intake of breath. "You like this huh?" The thumb of his right hand traced a lazy circle along her stomach feeling the muscles beneath her skin tighten reflexively.

With extreme effort, Zoe managed to pull away from him. "You're so bad! We're in the middle of the highway!" She suddenly felt cold with the contact gone. It was still strange to her, their holoforms. Here she was, sitting inside him, but here HE was, sitting beside her. Faintly she wondered how he could see out of two sets of eyes at once, but she shrugged it away. It didn't matter.

She turned to look at him. He was still using the same form as before. Dark swarthy skin, dark hair, well built, and ocean blue eyes. Like Ratchet, he was cute, bordering on gorgeous, and dressed in a light gray shirt with Reebok written down the side and loose fit jeans. She laughed. He _would_ only wear name brand.

He raised an eyebrow at her and she waggled her finger in his face. "No more distractions Jazz. I really want you to see your new surprise and it's still a drive away."

Holo-Jazz raised his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright." The holo-form evaporated in a mist of particles and his voice once again seemed to come from all around her. "Try not to wreck my body and use my horn to wake me up. I'll set my systems to wait for that."

"Oh Jazz…." She leaned forward and kissed the steering wheel. "I wouldn't wreck you…" she glanced away briefly. "…on purpose."

"What?"

"Go to sleep."

Suddenly filled with even more foreboding, Jazz powered down.

Zoe waited a moment then, "Jazz?" When there was no answer, she frowned. It felt weird to have him here and yet not here. She suddenly had misgivings of her own about this whole plan. "No, no, Zoe…he'll love this, you KNOW he will." Herself reassured, she started the engine and prepared to drive away, shifting into first gear.

A horrid grinding noise accompanied the attempt and she quickly put in the clutch in. "Jazz?" She asked loudly, embarrassed and dismayed, and suddenly glad he wasn't actually awake to feel that.

Without Jazz's sensor clusters to scan, Zoe concentrated on the road rather than using her AllSpark-granted gifts of controlling machines and thus, went the speed limit to Phoenix. Using a Swiggle-map she'd downloaded earlier, she quickly found her destination and within that, her target.

She pulled to a stop nearby and got out. Beside him, she put her hands on Jazz's door and used her powers to explore his systems with care. After a moment, she found the function she was looking for, his trans-scanner…and initiated it.

Triumphant, Zoe drove quickly back to Yaki point. On the deserted highway, they hadn't seen another car in almost an hour. Along the side of the road, she quickly unpacked his trunk and then leaned in the window to beep his horn.

Jazz felt his systems flicker on one by one quickly and he noticed the change instantly. Zoe was still there, her upper body inside the driver's side window. "I don't believe it!" He said, shocked.

"You don't like it?" Zoe pretended to pout.

Jazz tipped a bit on his newly scanned struts and caused Zoe to tumble into the seat on her head. "Come on. Ya know me better than that!" There was definitely no hiding the excitement in his voice. "This…is…SWEET! What do you call this? And why didn't you do this earlier?" he laughed.

Zoe picked herself up from his seat and laughed as she regained her own footing. "It's a Porsche. Specifically, it's a Porsche 911 GT3 Cup S…whatever that all means. But…still, Ratch and Hide can't tease you anymore. It's a 350,000 thousand dollar form." She thought about it a moment. "Actually, with the exception of Sunny, you even edge out Hot Rod's Ferrari Fiorano and Sides' Lambo Murceilago, by quite a bit."

Jazz nearly shook with delight. It wasn't so much the price that the humans put on his form, but the form itself. It was sleek, and curved, and its rarity carried with it a certain unique style. If he turned heads before, he'd stop traffic now, and THAT is what pleased him the most.

No, he thought suddenly, what pleased him the most was that Zoe would take the time to find something like this for him. He had never been big on the giving of material items to his partners; sharing of experiences and emotions was always much better. But he couldn't deny he had a certain _thing_ for distinctiveness. And sometimes that did mean material objects, like the clothing, he put on his holo-form, or for the secondary form, he chose for his protoform.

This…was just perfect, even the color. Lighter silver then his Solstice form, almost white, still with the spinner rims she'd given him before. Sharing his mirror with the dampener was a small Porsche Martini logo air-freshener with blue and red stripes and the number 4 written on it.

They were off the side of the road and he suddenly transformed. His body wasn't much different, other than the color and a few aesthetic changes. He picked Zoe up and swung her around with a happy squeal. "I love you." He said all of a sudden quiet, and held her against his chest, over his spark.

She could hear the rhythmic pulsing of his spark, this close, and she put her hands on his warm metal. "I know." She said quietly, contently. "I love you, Jazz."

He paused for a moment and then smiled. It felt good to hear her say that, even though he could clearly feel it through the link they shared. "Ya ready to go camping?" He sat her back on her feet.

"Sure." Zoe said. "Let just repack you up."

Jazz groaned, and transformed again.

An hour, and a quite scary 2500-foot vertical climb later, Zoe and Jazz were on the floor of the Grand Canyon, only a few dozen feet above the Colorado River. The water was slower here, wide, and giant sand banks and rocks lined the edges of the river before giving way to sparse trees and foliage. Zoe had carefully packed the equipment to connect to each other bag, so Jazz had an easier time climbing with the cargo and his passenger.

The high walls blocked the sun and the temperature was noticeably 20 degrees cooler. "Wow." Zoe said, and put on a light parka. "Good thing I brought some wood for a fire."

Jazz had already begun unpacking. He had transformed and his holo-form was digging through the equipment. "What's this?" He held up each item, and Zoe dutifully indentified every one before she set it up or found a home for it. Suddenly Jazz was glad she HAD packed so much. Maybe she would need it, but if it got too cold, she would just sleep inside his cab.

That wasn't such a bad prospect either.

It took nearly three hours to set up camp. The tent would not behave, and Zoe refused to read the instructions. They put the two sleeping bags in the tent, as if Jazz needed one. Artificial logs, guaranteed to burn 8 hours were set up in a fire pit. Extra clothes were in the tent, and Zoe's supply of hot dogs and sugary foods were in a small cooler inside Jazz's cab. Zoe didn't think there were any bears down here, but better to be safe than sorry.

She looked over at Jazz's secondary form and giggled. When holo-Jazz looked up, she clarified. "It's a good thing no one will come this way. How are we going to explain a Porsche racing car at the bottom of this gorge?"

Jazz laughed himself and decided he was glad they were isolated too. Really, how _could_ one answer something like that? Eventually he shut down his holo-form. It took quite a bit of energy to keep it running, and without his berth or direct sunlight, he would recharge a bit slower than normal.

He looked around the area; it was definitely beautiful. The sound of the river was soothing and the rock formations were truly grand. There was nothing like it on Cybertron. The water in the river moved so much differently than the fluid in the Rust Sea. It was softer, reflective, clear, and it didn't turn your insides into a corroded mess.

Even the sky was ablaze in brilliant colors. The setting sun lit the heavens on fire. While Cybertron had an atmosphere, it was far less polluted and not as dense as Earth's own. Sunsets, exceedingly rare during the end of the Golden Age, were never this bright or this vivid. The sun turned the already spectacular reds and gold of the canyon walls into molten metal. He could understand why Prowl enjoyed this thing called Nature so much.

A sound made him look over and he watched Zoe light the fire for a moment. She looked back over at him, firelight dancing across her features; it caused her eyes to sparkle, and Jazz felt his Spark constrict a bit. She was so beautiful, it didn't matter they were so different for one another.

He walked over to the fire and sat down. Immediately Zoe curled up next to him, sharing warmth. She was quiet, looking into the fire, and Jazz smiled. Tomorrow, he promised himself, tomorrow he would find a way to give her back everything she so willingly gave to him.

A rustling sound distracted him and he looked down to watch Zoe load a sharpened stick with a mess of white chemically expanded foam. She put it into the fire and held it there until it caught on fire. Once she removed it, she popped the now-softened, now black, simple food compound into her mouth. She prepared to repeat the ritual and suddenly noticed her audience.

"What?" She said around the mouthful. "Roasting marshmallows is a camping tradition." She pulled out some chocolate and a graham cracker. "S' mores." When he continued to stare at her with a bemused grin, she laughed. "Don't worry big guy, I brought something for you." She got up, came back with a duffle bag, and resumed her seating arrangement.

Jazz adopted a skeptical continence. "I hope it's not more of those mellow marshes. I think they'd get stuck in my intakes."

Zoe affixed him with a reproachful stare. "Why do you always assume the worst from me? I'm going to make you wear pink. I'm going to wreck you. Have I ever done anything NOT cool to you?"

"Well you ground my gears before." He said leaning down towards her.

"You felt that?! You said you were shut-down!"

"Yeah, of course I felt it, Alex wanted you to take him for a …waitanano!…you did it a SECOND time?"

"Err…." She quickly stuffed another marshmallow in her mouth.

He continued to squint down at her and so Zoe raised a bag to him in offering, which he took.

"…no wonder my shoulder is sore…." He mumbled and then peeked into the bag. He immediately brightened up. "Hey! Where did you get these? I haven't had these in like vorns!"

He held up several cubical dark grey crystalline chips. "Galena! What a great snack!" he quickly popped a few into his mouth and crunched them up. "Mmmm…salty."

Zoe retrieved a 5-gallon jerry can, the type usually carried on the backs of off road vehicles for extra gasoline. "Wash it down?"

Opening it, he sniffed at it. "Hey!" his optics widened. "High grade!" he took a small swig. "Where did you get all of this?"

A smile lit her features and she leaned against him again. "Lead sulfide is really common on Earth. Ratchet also taught me how to make hot energon a while back. After that, he taught me a few basics on refining it in different ways, and he helped me make this first batch. Good?"

He took another swig in response to that. It _was_ good. Maybe it was partly due to the fact he hadn't had any in so long that it tasted even better now, or maybe it was because Zoe herself had made it, but he couldn't deny it tasted _very_ good. "Geeze boo," he said quietly. "You shouldn't do so much for me."

She looked up at him, honestly confused. However, she didn't answer right away. The easy answer was that it made her feel good to see him happy. Zoe knew Jazz wasn't used to being the one indulged. He had spent his life doing his best to indulge others, in his own way. To go out of his way for his subordinates, to make his comrades smile, to help those around him forget, even for a microsecond that the world they lived in was almost without hope.

Keeping up a front like that wasn't terribly difficult for Jazz; that was his personality, but he was just as affected by the hopelessness, the despair that seemed to permeate the entire Autobot ranks. He also usually kept it all inside. Unwilling, or unable, to share his innermost feelings with all but a handful of his peers, Zoe had decided from the first time they had joined, that she'd do anything and everything it took to make his life easier. If making him some high grade, or lead sulfide snacks, were all it took, then that would be HER mission.

"Why not Jazz?" She asked and leaned against his leg. "You're my mate, and if I want to make you some galena served with mercury sauce with some high grade…or whatever…I will." It was petulant, but she smiled.

For a moment, Jazz looked down at her, his optics wide, but then he laughed. A stab of guilt passed through him then, he wanted to do something for her too. But, what? First, the rims, then the new form, now high grade, and galena, he knew he was going to end up spoiled. Maybe there was something online he could access about human relationships.

"So," he opted to change the subject. "What all are you supposed to do on these camping trips, besides eat?"

Zoe was quiet a moment. "Um…you know. I don't know." She admitted. "I've never been camping before…while NOT on a mission. But…" she thought it over briefly. "I'm pretty sure you're supposed to cook hot dogs, roast marshmallows, and tell scary stories around the campfire."

Jazz couldn't help but chuckle at her sagely nod. "Ok. Boo. We have a campfire and you have roasted marshmallows. All we need now is a scary story." A soft humming noise came from him then, one that Zoe recognized as Jazz attempting to access long forgotten files. "Well…" he said sheepishly. "I don't know of many. Hmm….There is of course Primus and Unicron…our creator and our destroyer."

"Your gods." It was confusing to Zoe. "I know they are your creators, but I thought you worshiped the AllSpark too."

"Well," Jazz explained. "We do. But the AllSpark is a tool, an artifact, that our creator, Primus, created. Because he put himself into the AllSpark, and the Allspark is a conduit into the Well of AllSparks, a tiny part of him makes up every one of us. He's linked to the Matrix Flame too."

"It is prophesied that he would eventually die, and his herald, The Last Autobot, would hearken the arrival of Unicron, He who destroys." Jazz glanced down at Zoe who was looking at him with a somewhat less-than awe and wonder filled expression and he continued. "It is said that before Unicron was banished, he was able to bury a compulsion in the minds of several mechaniods so that they gathered and formed a cult. This cult has supposedly tried to off Optimus several times as he is the 'leader' of Primus' forces…us."

Zoe remained quiet long after Jazz stopped speaking. Then finally, she put another marshmallow on the fire. "Jazz…that's just not scary."

He looked down at her incredulously. "How is a being that could come down and wipe out all of Cybertron as we know it NOT scary?"

"Ok, boo." She said gently. "That's like saying God himself is going to come down and destroy the Earth."

There was a quick information search and he responded haughtily. "But He already did. Weren't the cities Sodom and Gomorrah destroyed by Him?"

"Yes." She conceded. "But…depending on your view point, and your religion, one may or may not believe the words of the Book it was written in." She shrugged. "Some humans, some entire human races don't believe in the same gods as their neighbors. Some believe in the one God, others believe in multiple gods or different ones. Those that believe differently believe that the Bible is nothing but fantasy, including the stories within it. Unlike you guys, who have one theology…we humans have a dozen or more."

His vents cycled. "Oh…kay." He said. "There is a planet I know of that the radiation crystals cause hallucinations."

It was Zoe's turn to sigh. "Ok Jazzy, you're missing the point…Let me see…" She tapped a finger on her chin briefly. "Let me try, there is a story I know of..."

"Once upon a time, in a time not so long ago, there were sprites. Little sprites of the ancient woods would come to your door. The usual appeasement for these creatures was a bowl of fresh, cool milk, and they would return to their woods happy and content. However, eventually humans began to advance; we built machines and began to ignore, even scorn the wilds. They began to disregard those friendly sprites and destroy their homes. No more milk. No more woods. And those tiny sprites swore upon us, a terrible vengeance."

"They chanted, 'Humans, humans, pay your dues. There are just two paths that you get to choose. Feed us right, or fight and lose. Gremlins everywhere.'" Zoe waved her hands in the firelight dramatically.

"But we didn't care. We cut down the woods. The farmland was spoiled. The Gremlins had nowhere left to turn…but towards the cities and towns, we had created upon their beloved despoiled lands. It was there that they found new homes. A brave new world among the machines that we had created to enrich our lives, they lived. Among the whirling gears, they now call home."

Zoe ran her fingers lightly up Jazz's leg, aiming for sensor clusters and she smiled. "Many years passed, and the Gremlins curse has never been lifted. Maybe you wonder how they survive. Well," She chuckled. "That's easy. They eat. They feed on machines. They love cold iron and steam, and copper and glass and steel. Machines that break are their handiwork. Once they only seemed to plague aircraft and motorcycles, but not now. Now the world is full of machines, IPods, computers, Playsations, microwaves, televisions….Autobots. Daily they run, unseen among the humans, searching out their next feast of rubber and oil, or plastic. Energon wafers heated well is what they'd love to crunch."

Nonchalantly, she popped open a small access port on Jazz's shin, running fingers along the bundles of cables and servomotor actuators. Her tiny fingers caused minute vibrations and he shivered just a bit. "Now that Cybertronians are here," She continued ominously, "the Gremlins have a whole new item on their menu. Energon, mech fluid, transformation cogs…all so very tempting. Like a rare delicacy. The ONLY thing you can do to keep them away, it doesn't matter HOW thick your armor is…in fact, the thicker the better…is to make peace with them."

Jazz's optics were wide. Can that be true? Earth had creatures that actually _fed_ on Cybertronians?! Moreover, there was no physical defense against such a menace? He did not like the sound of that, but he listened in rapt attention for Zoe to continue…which she didn't. He watched her put another marshmallow on the fire and then eat it, as if nothing at all were amiss. "H-how?" he said finally.

Zoe grinned inwardly and continued to act nonchalant. "Oh? Well…there are several rituals. Drop some oil on an incense coil perhaps. Spill some anti-freeze." She paused, thinking. "You've got to make them work for you. Send them to those 'cons, so they can….ah!" Zoe suddenly started with a gasp, as she looked at something behind Jazz.

Jazz's head spun around in the direction that Zoe was looking. His scanner was on, but he detected nothing. Still, something had made her start like that. "What is it boo?" He asked quietly.

"I...I thought I sensed something..." Her voice was strained, almost a whisper, fearful.

He began to scan the area carefully. "What?" His hand came up, cannon deploying. "I don't see anything…" He really didn't. There was nothing but the lingering geo-thermal heat from the rocks, and shadows…empty shadows.

"Hsst! You won't, you _can't_ see them Jazz…they aren't…" The generator roared to life and cut off anything else she wanted to say.

Jazz jumped to his feet, careful to place Zoe behind him, now fully alert. He was still unable to see the tiny monsters, but he was NOT going to let them chew on his spark casing without a fight. He could only hope that he could stall them long enough so that Zoe, being partially mechanical herself, would be able to escape.

Something in him clicked suddenly, and he looked down at Zoe. She looked utterly unafraid. It was not the reaction of someone in the same amount of danger of getting ate by the Gremlins as he was. Something was not right. He searched through their link and found an abundance of what could only be amusement. Ok then…two could play this game.

"Zoe," Jazz said carefully, quietly. "Listen to me…if they come after me, I want you to run, ok?"

"But Jazz…"

"No buts, ok. Just promise me you'll…AAAAGH!" Suddenly Jazz began to spasm, and he tumbled away from Zoe to crash against the ground roughly. He snarled as his hands pulled and yanked at his plating. "Ruh…RUN!" He screamed as he continued to jerk around violently.

Zoe was shocked into immobility as Jazz hit the ground and began to thrash around. She could only stare at him as he began to yank at his plating. Dark blue energon sprayed outwards in a graceful arc, and tiny bits of shrapnel flew in all directions. She ran towards him, but had to back away when arcs of whitish lightning played across his servos. "JAZZ!" Her hands flew over her mouth as she watched, horrified, as her mate began to tear himself apart. "..No Jazz…no!" Tears began to well in her eyes.

Just as suddenly as it started, it abruptly ended and Jazz sat up. Damage and energon fading away, and he looked at Zoe with a smirk. "Scared?"

Zoe's expression went from horror-struck, to confused, to angry all in a nano-click. "I don't think you're very funny!" She spun around away from him, arms crossed.

Jazz held back a laugh, "Aw…we're supposed to be scaring each other right? And I admit, for a moment, ya really did have me going…and…" he crawled forward to put his head around the side of her shoulder, nudging her affectionately. "YOU have to admit…you were scared. Starting up that generator was a good touch though…but I have a holo emitter. "Were ya scared? Huh huh were ya?"

Frowning, Zoe tried her best to remain mad at him, but that tone of voice...there was simply no way and a smile cracked the edges of her mouth. "Yes…boo, I was scared." She turned towards him and kissed him on his cheek, before resuming her place next to the fire. He followed close behind.

For the remainder of the evening Jazz and Zoe shared stories not quite so scary, and simply enjoyed the others company.

* * *

Orbital Bouncer - pretty much the same thing as a transporter, except you can only go in one direction...up to the ship. In the IDW comic it killed the humans they bounced.

Swiggle - a play on Google, which is the search engine Bumblebee used in order to find Sam's family in the movie prequel.

Porche Martini with red and blue stripes and the number 4 -- for all you old Gen 1 fans...that was the original form and color of Jazz's secondary form. -sniff- those were the days. :)

Galena - lead sulfide crystals. Naturally occuring on Earth. grayish cubical things and a natural semiconductor. Essential in the early days of radio

High grade - Energon. Of the type to get our Autobots 'over-energized' read: drunk

Hallucinogenic radiation crystals were found on the planet that Kup was stranded on. He resisted attempts as rescue because the hallucinations made him think zombie-bots were attacking him (seriously). In Kups Origins book

The 'story' Zoe knows is actually a filk song performed by Leslie Fish called Gremlins. Its a funny song, and scary mabye if your a robot. :)


	2. Chapter 2 Connections

The morning sun dawned late in the deep canyon and Jazz's systems came online one by one. At some point during the night, the fire had gone out and he'd retreated towards the canyon wall carrying a sleeping Zoe in his arms. He was immediately aware her position had not changed.

Zoe curled up against his grill facing him. If she had been a true Cybertronian, they would be spark to spark as they were chest to chest. As always, when her spark was so close to his, he found himself distracted and simply speaking, aroused. It was a bit frustrating for him; they were so different in form. He knew she should have more, although she'd never expressed an explicit need for more. It seemed to be a human trait that sex and sexual encounters were one of their basic needs.

He struggled to understand why. Yes, it was nice to share tactile sensations with one you were close to, but Autobots did not carry the depth of sensory inputs that humans did. In fact, humans, and probably most organics, held more sensory inputs in just their fingertips then a typical Autobot had in their entire arm. He wondered what sort of processing power it would take to recognize the breadth of available tactile stimuli.

The saboteur carefully dropped an arm away from Zoe without waking her and ran it over the nearby rocks. He could see that their surface was rough, littered with cracks and bumps, but he couldn't feel most of them. His claw-like fingers were much too large, and his metal, while pliable was simply too hard to process the myriad of minute details his optics told him were present.

His sensors told him that there were other things there he would never truly feel, not in the way Zoe could. The temperature of the wind across skin, the crunch of sand beneath his feet, the true taste of food, warm water splashing against the skin in hundreds of droplets; these weren't things he ever missed, rather he'd never known existed. Things he didn't particularly care too know, until he experienced them, secondhand, through Zoe's eyes. Now, he was past intrigued.

Zoe stirred in his arms but did not open her eyes. "What's the matter Jazzy?" she said sleepily.

"You going to sleep all day, boo?" He chuckled. "Sun's up and everything."

She made no motion to get up, or even to change position. "Why? I think everything's perfect right here where I'm at." She snuggled against him tighter.

Jazz could not help but smile at that. Nevertheless, it was their last full day together till she got back from Cybertron and he was determined to make the most of it. The smile turned dark for a moment. Their lives could change in the blink of an optic. Cybertron was a long way away, and between it and Earth, was the entire Decepticon army. Unconsciously, his arms tightened around her.

Now Zoe opened her eyes. Something was wrong, and she lifted her head towards Jazz curiously. "Jazz? Are you ok?" There was a wave of unhappiness radiating from him. It worried her.

It was gone quickly and he graced her with a lopsided grin. "Naw, it's cool." The grin faltered somewhat when she continued to stare at him, obviously seeing through the pretense. "Be careful, out there…Zoe." He said finally, his optics growing a bit dark. "The universe is bigger than you can imagine. I should go with you…"

"No!" She said, fully sitting up. "Jazz we discussed this. Optimus Prime needs you here. Bumblebee needs you here." When he didn't respond, Zoe laid her head on his chest, her fingertips tracing the patterns in his grill. "Your comrades need you here, on Earth."

"Oh?" He said, pulling back from her a bit, "And what about you?"

A smile played across her face then, and she chewed on her lip delicately. "Me? I _have_ you. What more _should_ I need?"

Jazz decided then that humans were very good at those sappy, corny lines. He wanted to laugh, but it disappeared as Zoe's skillful fingers caught a hold of the mechanisms that held his chest plates closed and exposed his spark. The chill air played across the sensitive cables and an involuntary shudder went through his body then. He didn't have time to analyze that strange sensation before Zoe, her own spark appearing through its disembodied glow, rushed forward to merge with his. She was getting good at this.

Again, the Autobot found himself immersed in a world of sensation and complex emotions he couldn't understand. It was a world of color and light, of smoke and cinnamon. A world juxtaposed to everything he knew and accepted. Still, Zoe was beside him and her life essence made him feel complete, invincible.

Through this time, he was determined to take her through pathways and nuances of his life that he'd never shown anyone before. He wanted to show her she was special, that after thousands of years wandering the galaxy, fighting a war, and knowing only death and destruction, she was the one to bring him out of that downward spiral. That she was the one to whom he'd anchored himself in the storm of chaos that was every Autobot's life.

Likewise, Zoe too wanted to give more to Jazz. It was aggravating that she found it so hard to relate to him at times. She knew he didn't understand the complexities and contradictory nature of the human brain. So much of what she did confused him, annoyed him, frustrated him, and yet he was willing to set it all aside in order to make her happy. He'd been alive for thousands of years, and she, less than 25. He had eons of experience upon which to call in order to deal effectively with their relationship …while she only had what she'd shared with Alex.

During their joining, Jazz had deliberately remained aloof about that part of her life. He'd made it a subtle point to avoid those pathways that lead to anything about the two of them in any sort of romantic encounter. Zoe hadn't pressed upon it either, but she knew why.

Inevitably, Zoe knew, beyond any doubt, all guys, whether from Cybertron, Earth, or even Mars…were the same. What she had learned from Alex, and from late night Cinemax and the few racy movies Harley had smuggled into the base, combined with her intimate knowledge of Jazz's innermost likes and desires…was plenty.

The sun was well past its apex when they finally separated. At some point Jazz had shifted and put his back against the ground with Zoe over him. Zoe opened her eyes blearily and squinted as they adjusted to the sudden light. Below her, Jazz rumbled softly, himself recovering. The merging was always so intense and it left Jazz in need of a short recharge.

Although his eyes were still closed when Zoe picked up her head and stared into his still open spark chamber. The intense bluish-gold light that mirrored his optics, was throbbing and pulsating in a slow rhythm. She could see tiny orbs of denser rarified energon orbiting one another deep within the circle of energy and remembered what it had been like, not so long ago, when she'd carried his spark back from the Well. She knew she shouldn't touch it now, but that didn't stop her from reaching in and running her fingers along the clusters of cables that lead to, surrounded, and connected to the octagonal chamber that housed the actual spark.

The wires were hot, nearly burning, but soft, pliable, and they vibrated beneath her fingertips. The cables, once nearly translucent, began to react physically to her touch and a myriad of colors began to pulse along their lengths. Likewise, Zoe nearly lost her perch when Jazz's body seized beneath her forcefully. His optics flew open and a strangled cry escaped his vocalizer.

Startled, she rose to her hands and knees, above his chest. "Jazz? Did I hurt you?" Zoe had not missed his earlier shudder from the winds caress over his chamber. Now she was just worried it was painful, rather than pleasant. Though the feeling coming through their link wasn't pain, she was still new at deciphering the complex web of emotional subroutines the Autobots displayed. It over-shadowed the byzantine human psychology at times.

It was a moment before he responded. "Only in a good way. More."

Zoe laughed. "Bossy-bot." But she obliged him and strummed his wires like strings of a harp. It brought out deep, rumbling groans from Jazz and was causing Zoe to be dangerously flooded with emotion herself. She fought against the rising tide and would not allow herself to stop. "I told you I'd make it up to you." She whispered with a grin and leaned forward blowing cool air over the exposed connections. His spark surged, sizzled with intensity, and his fingers dug shallow furrows in the soft rocky soil beneath him.

Jazz's body arched upwards and Zoe replanted her legs to stay stable. She stroked the bundles of cables, back and forth, with the pads of her fingertips, before she switched to dragging her slightly pointed fingernails across the thick bands. The change brought out a series of static filled whimpers from her mate that sounded both strained and rapturous at the same time. Zoe worried that this might be too much. "Maybe I should stop," she half-teased. This couldn't be good for his processors.

"No." He growled. "Don't you dare!" At this point, he would have done something, anything, to make her keep going, if he had been physically able to move. Primus, her fingers were like electrified plasma over the most sensitive area of his body. It was impossible that Cybertronians could stimulate one another in this carnal way. Although it was possible for them to link up using a series of ports located on their torsos, it wasn't the same. Linking that way was nothing more than a sharing of memories and events that each chose to share. It was still mental. This was physical. This was a new level of ecstasy.

Jazz felt like he was flying through the cosmos, his body pure energy, with a nebula of crackling, electrical color pouring into every processor, every sensor. His optics closed, he continued onwards, a streak of light, towards a star shining high above him. His body vibrated, and his limbs twitched in a series of increasing spasms.

Zoe couldn't help but smile at the state of her mate. Calm, cool, collected Jazz, was whimpering under her fingertips. She pushed her thumb upwards on a cable, against its 'grain' and it vibrated, which caused Jazz's body to shudder and another moan-like noise to escape his mouth. The flood of emotions was making her hot as well, her body reacting from his arousal while she continued to press on his pulse points. He was close to overloading, she could tell. So she reached in, pinching another set of multicolored lines in rapid succession before she placed her fingertips over the opening to the spark casing, and squeezed.

The resulting flare of energy from his spark, caused her to close her eyes, and the surge of energon through his body, caused Jazz to convulse in waves for a moment, before his body resettled. Zoe opened her eyes and watched his spark throb in rapid and uneven pulses. She didn't say anything, but smiled, trying to cool her own body down. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, she thought to herself. Now she was hot and bothered, and Jazz was in no condition to even speak. "You ok, boo?" she asked quietly, pushing his chest plates closed gently.

"Can't….must….recharge…." came the staggered, almost tired, answer. Jazz's optics, already closed, remained that way, as his systems powered down.

Zoe giggled and slid down off her perch. Well that was interesting, she thought, looking back at her mate fondly. She'd have to remember some of those places she'd found in her merging with him. His spark casing wasn't his only sensitive spot, but it was by far, the strongest one. Still, it made her feel good to have made him feel incredible, yet her body was burning up. They shared more than just thoughts through the link; they shared feelings as well.

Because of what she did to him, Zoe was now feeling overly aroused too. ~_Damn._~ she thought, and glanced over at the river. ~_Bet that water's cold…_~ Within minutes she had stripped and immersed herself in the slow flowing, but chilly Colorado River.

The water felt good against her heated skin and she quickly felt her body retreating from where she had taken Jazz's body earlier. She had to try harder to reign in her own reactions; acting like that in front of him would serve only to frustrate them both. She knew there would be a repeat performance; it was just too great to see him so fully satiated.

A bitter chuckle escaped her then. Why now? Why now that she'd discovered an entirely new and unique activity that she should have to travel across the galaxy and be separated from the only being that could look beyond her considerable flaws. Life was never fair, she lamented briefly. She glanced at Jazz's prone physique. Well, on the other hand, life was good. It brought her, him.

It was over an hour before Jazz had finally sorted himself out enough to sit up. He was still feeling the effects somewhat. The effects of being over-energized on ultra-grade were similar, but this was deeper, not so fleeting, and definitely better. He glanced around the area briefly, looking for his human. She was in the river swimming, probably doing laps. She was all the way on the other side.

Briefly, the thought that she was in danger passed through his mind and he ran a scan on her. His diagnostic scanner was nowhere nearly as refined as Ratchet's but he could tell she was mildly hypothermic, and tired. How long had she been swimming? Since he went off-line?

A hand went to his chest and a shudder passed through him from the memory. He'd never even suspected manipulation of his spark chamber could, would, feel like that. It felt just so wonderfully gratifying. It was hard to imagine that inorganic beings could find the same erotic pleasure from physical stimulus as organic creatures, but that proved true.

He couldn't wait to tell Ratchet. Ratchet knew everything…except this.

Right now, he rolled forward into a transformation to his alt. mode and his holoform activated at the far shore, waist deep in the water. "Yo, sup gorgeous?"

Zoe let out a small shriek as a man suddenly _appeared_ in front of her. Her hands flew over her chest in instinctual modesty. "Jazz! Shit!" she squealed. Jazz only grinned at her until she finally smiled at him. "I guess you're feeling better now?"

His blue eyes sparkled. "If you mean to compare how I feel right now, with how I felt several breems ago…" A short laugh erupted from him then. "I feel lousy. Horrible. Awful." He reached up and tapped his chin innocently.

Zoe rolled her eyes as she slowly kicked backwards through the water from him. "Silly bot." She teased. "I'm not sure that's so good for you. Maybe we shouldn't do that anymore. Ratchet is going to yell at you."

He disappeared from in front of her then and she blinked in confusion. Suddenly strong arms encircled her waist from behind and a low husky voice growled in her ear. "You shouldn't tease me. I don't react well to that."

Jazz had to fight to hold back a triumphant laugh as Zoe's instant reaction. Her heartbeat sped up, her body tensed against him, and her breath caught in her throat. A noticeable chill from the water pervaded her body that made him wonder if that was unhealthy for her. He adjusted his holoform's temperature upwards several degrees even as he tightened his grip around her and began to explore her shoulders with his mouth.

Unconsciously Zoe melted against him, the heat was nice and in stark contrast to the chilly water. She laid her head back on his shoulder and closed her eyes quickly losing herself in the sensation of Jazz's mouth against her skin. Each tiny kiss sent tingles of electricity, or perhaps energon, racing along the surface of her body. It ignited her in places she'd long forgotten.

Her willing submittal was too much for him to ignore and he pushed further, exploring her body with his fingers, keeping a mental note of which places sent chills across their link. It was for his own sake as much as for Zoe's, as their link caused him to feel what she did.

It was odd to him, so much more then he could have imagined. This was what it was like to have millions of sensor clusters. Through their bond, he could feel the chill of the water, the fire from his mouth, the electricity from his fingertips. It made his spark ache in a familiar way. Had she felt this way when she caused him to overload earlier? No wonder she went for a swim.

He pushed those thoughts aside for now and concentrated on his task. From his studies on the internet, he was aware of what areas of her body _should_ be the most sensitive and he decided to concentrate on those. She'd had a good reaction before when he'd manipulated her neck, so he started there, pushing her wet hair to the side and delving in with his mouth along its graceful curves.

Zoe dug her fingers into Jazz's muscular arm as he began to nibble along her neck. She gasped slightly as his mouth moved to her ear and a warm holo-tongue swirled around the lobe before it delved inside. She struggled to remain in control, but her resistance was fading fast. It swept her away, like the river rushing around them. "Define 'well,'" she finally said.

At that, Jazz practically growled in her ear, causing a ripple of pleasure to buzz through her body then. A throaty cry escaped her lips and Jazz noted her ears were especially sensitive, and that growling seemed to turn her on even more. "Ya like that." He said smugly, and attacked her ear again. "Teasing me…has consequences, boo." He said in-between nibbles. "Kinda like…hitting Ironhide...he'll hit ya back."

It was becoming increasingly difficult to form coherent sentences. She had just opened her mouth to retort to that, when the hand on her stomach traced upwards to cup one of her breasts, the thumb circling the tip with feather caresses. Her body heaved against him seeking escape, but his grip tightened further and denied her. "S...so…you're going... to hit me?" she managed to gasp.

There was a cracking energy field now around his primary form but it was completely unnoticed by the ex-S7 agent in the water. It would have probably raised an optic ridge on Ratchet if he saw it, but Jazz didn't focus on anything right now except Zoe. Of course, he still maintained a vigil for danger, but the enormous expanse of his attention was on his mate. He chuckled as he drew back from her just a bit to push her head forward so he could get at her back. Cybertronian glyphs, tattooed there by the AllSpark traced down along her spine and Jazz could see that even those were swirling, sparkling with rising energy. They were beautiful and desire for his mate rose all over again in him. "Not with my fists…." He said coyly.

As his tongue traced the swirling glyphs on her back, he slowly back-pedaled towards their side of the shore. Zoe wasn't paying attention to their location and he was certain that they could tumble off a waterfall before she'd open her eyes. It was a good thing. It made him happy to know he could please her in the same physical way she pleased him. However, he knew it was more than that. He could _feel_ that is was more than that.

He decided then that this human mating ritual, though complex, was fascinating and erotic, and something he was certain he wanted to do with her, repeatedly. Jazz figured he should be nervous; this being his first coupling with a human after all, but something about this seemed almost natural to him. Natural and yet alien all at once. He wound his other hand around her body to complete the ministrations the other hand had done to her chest.

Zoe hardly felt the water anymore, so heated was her body now. Jazz's hand were like fire across her skin and she melted against him. She felt as if she couldn't catch her breath; flying through the air on a silver streak of light. She suddenly felt the smooth pebbles of the shore under her feet but before she had a chance to react, Jazz had spun her around and captured her lips with his.

An entirely new set of sensations flooded Jazz's already beleaguered systems and he tried to mimic what he'd scanned from various television shows and movies. Then he quickly stopped trying to mimic and decided to forge his own style. He was Jazz after all; he'd do things his own way, or not at all. As he pressed his tongue onto Zoe's lips, they opened, granting him access.

She was soft and warm, and he explored this new zone carefully as his hands continued to map her body. Every nuance, every inch, every soft bit was touched gently by strong hands bent upon finding a way to return the favor she'd so graciously bestowed upon him earlier. Deftly he maneuvered them to the ground, which he softened by creating a small holomatter blanket, and he pinned her body down with his, continuing the kiss.

Zoe barely registered they were on the ground until the soft feather comforter puffed-up around her. _Where--?_ She didn't have time to think further before Jazz's tongue demanded entrance, to which she gave readily. For the smallest of moments she marveled at just how detailed their holoforms were, and then she stopped thinking as his hands traveled across her burning body heading lower.

Her own hands came up, running smooth nails across his rippled abs and followed suit, moving across the smooth tight muscles of his all-too-perfect human aft. It caused another growl from him, and to pull away from her enough so she could grab some air. The sensations were like nothing he'd ever felt before. Subtle yet they demanded every bit of his attention. He said nothing, simply content to look down at her. It was a different perspective that he had too. Here, he was her size, her level, not looming over her. His sight was pure, without the sometimes-distracting displays of his diagnostics or scanners, or tactical readouts that normally shared space with his vision.

He waited until her eyes fluttered open with confusion before his fingers snuck inside her. Preparation was important; the humans called it foreplay. He positioned himself and settled between her legs for easier access. Scientifically it was to prepare the body, but he didn't care about any of that. Scientifically, he found it fun, intriguing, euphoric. But, the reaction surprised him. She jerked beneath him, eyes squeezing shut again, and a throaty cry escaping her. Their link surged with energy at that point, and Jazz's vision swam for a moment.

About to ask him what was wrong, Zoe cried out as his fingers entered her. She was already burning from an internal fire and Jazz did nothing but stoke those flames higher. His fingers found places that only added fuel to an inferno that threatened to consume her. He was heavy and pinned her down but she writhed beneath him trying to escape those probing digits that were dangerously close to pushing her over the edge.

"Hmm…" Jazz said, nonchalantly, watching her body tremble. "This can't be good for you, maybe we should stop."

Zoe's sudden reaction cut off anything further he tried to say. Her hands flew up and grasped each side of his head yanking him down to crush her lips against his. She captured his lower lip in her teeth, and opened her eyes to stare into his. "Don't you dare!"

Zoe would have giggled at his nonchalant continence if he hadn't chosen that moment to surge forward burying himself deep inside her.

Her back arched violently, her head went back and she cried out against him, but Jazz paused briefly, himself lost in the moment, processing. This new series of tactility made what he'd felt before seem insignificant, trifling. He'd thought nothing they did could feel any better. He was wrong, though mostly he imagined it had more to do with the mental connection he had with her, then the physical one. Quickly he started to move again, when Zoe began to squirm.

He held himself up with one arm and used the other to wrap under the hollow her arching back created below her pulling her body tightly against him as he drove into her. He keep up a fast pace, aiming into certain spots that he knew would heighten her pleasure. The fast, deep thrusts quickly took Zoe over the edge and she peaked out, screaming Jazz's name.

For his part, Jazz continued to meld into her slowing down until the spasms had passed. He couldn't have done more, as her peaking energy level sent a raging surge of power through their link nearly causing him to shut down as well. It was an incredible feeling that mimicked the earlier release. He gently turned Zoe's head towards him, kissing her lightly. "Boo? You ok?"

It took Zoe several minutes to open her eyes. Her pulse was racing off the charts, her body was trembling from the experience and her voice came in small breaths. "If…by 'ok' you mean phenomenal, amazing, incredible…then yes. I'm ok." She giggled but then his mouth covered hers. After a few minutes, she grinned again. "Maybe I should tease you more often."

Now Jazz grinned. "Think so?" He bumped his lower body forward, still inside her, and she inhaled sharply, still overly sensitive. "Maybe you should…"

Eventually they moved back into their camp rather than on the banks of the river and made good use of the remainder of their second day.

It was late the next afternoon when they finally decided to peel themselves apart. With a great deal of reluctance, they began to pack up camp. Both she and Jazz had promised Optimus they'd return to headquarters today, because tonight Prowl's crew, along with Zoe, was to leave for Cybertron.

Although she knew she was carrying the the Autobot's last hope to restore their home-world it didn't help to mend the empty feeling that lumped in the pit of her stomach now. She already missed him and she hadn't even left yet. For a moment, she considered recanting her earlier declaration in that Jazz should stay here, but she shook her head. No, she can't be selfish like that. What if Bumblebee, or Ratchet got hurt, or killed, while she was gone and Jazz's presence could have prevented it. She simply couldn't be that selfish.

It didn't make it hurt any less though.

She glanced over at Jazz trying to take the tent down in his holoform. He quickly grew frustrated when it didn't obey his simple commands. Parts should go where you tell them. Its transformation cog must be broken. Eventually, after a series of cascading, catastrophic failures that left him tangled up within the folds of the misbehaving tent, his holoform vanished in a spray of particles. Immediately the Porsche transformed and Jazz stomped over to the tent, his crescent cannon activating.

The tent, and the surrounding area, never stood a chance.

Zoe jumped to her feet, aghast. "Ok _IRONHIDE_!" she said pointedly as all the camping gear went up in a plume of photons. At least now, she only had two bags to pack.

Jazz glanced back at her sullenly over his shoulder, his mouth turned in a slight pout. "Didn't really need all that stuff anyway…."

She glanced at the smoking crater again briefly and then shrugged. It was true. It wasn't as if the Autobots were big on camping…but oh well. It was less for him to carry back. "I guess not." She leaned to her right. "Then…I'm done."

He nodded and grabbed the two bags, hooking them onto his armor and waited until Zoe found a safe comfortable hold upon him. It was a long climb back up, but not terribly difficult. He paused at the top of the canyon looking over what he filled away as 'their' spot. A small flash caught his attention then and he looked down with a smile at Zoe. "Picture worth a thousand words?"

She put her camera away, gazing at it fondly, as if the image stored there were a precious treasure. "Just three…"

"Hey hey! It's not over yet. Come on!" He said cheerfully. "Got lots of time left."

At that, she looked bewildered and he clarified. "Maybe our first camping trip is over, but we'll have another; as many as we want. We're at the beginning of our life together, not the end Boo." He dropped to a knee in front of her and gently hooked a finger under her hands. "You're going to save Cybertron, you have to. It's not like I won't be waiting for you when you come back." His voice changed; it got softer and he grinned. "I think I've waited for you for millennia…I can wait a little longer."

Zoe couldn't keep the tears from her eyes as she gazed upwards into honey-blue ones. He looked so sincere, so vulnerable, and she leaned forward until her forehead touched the bridge of his nose. It was another moment where more words seemed inadequate so she supplanted this with a simple kiss on the end of his nose.

The drive back was pleasant and although Zoe felt somewhat saddened still, she wasn't as sad as she had been. Jazz was right; he was inside her heart, only a thought away. While they couldn't truly communicate over such a long distance, they'd still be able to feel the strong emotional states of the other.

The excitement of the trip was also starting to affect her. She was going to another planet, and not just any planet, Cybertron. Other then the crew of Ghost-1 she'd be the first human to go so far into space, and she couldn't even tell anyone about it. Not that it mattered.

Simon would have loved this, she thought sadly, then, amended. Well, probably not so much the alien robot thing, but rather he would have enjoyed the scientific aspect of seeing another planet. He'd never forgive the Autobots, or the Decepticons, she knew. It was almost tragic how Simon had loved his friends, his family so much, yet lost touch with his emotions so deeply. He had been the most changed by the stolen technology both physically and mentally. Yet, he'd left them all, swearing vengeance.

She worried that his vengeance would truly be a terrible thing. Alone Simon was of little threat, but he was never one to charge into the forefront. He was support, backup. Simon did his best work with a subtle and hidden talent. Zoe only hoped that the Autobots would find themselves able to forgive Simon, or at the least, overlook whatever actions he took.

Zoe felt a strong hand over hers and she looked up and smiled at Jazz's holoform. He looked her over silently with a small smile of his own. It was rare he used his holoform while he was driving, and even now, it flickered with interference mildly. Doing his best to be reassuring, he gave her hand a small squeeze.

"Ugh," Zoe said, "I think your holomatter generator is a little … um…broken." She squeezed his hand back and then the holoform faded away.

"Yeah," he said with a chuckle. "Ratchet is SO going to have my aft. I flooded my processors, and strained an actuator or two, and overloaded my holomatrix...yeah…I'm dead, again." Even the prediction of doom couldn't eliminate the amusement from his voice.

They were almost back in Boulder, along the outskirts where the 'Bone yard' lay; or rather, Roscoe's used parts junkyard. It was here the Autobots had decided to make their home on Earth, hidden here among the scrap and buried within the hills. It was dark, well into the evening when they rolled back into the base.

Everyone was there, including Sam and Michaela. Zoe jumped out with her two bags and Jazz transformed behind her. Prowl was frowning slightly at the Lieutenant. "You're late."

Jazz shook his head, grin still in place. "Nope. Said we'd be back today…it's still technically 'today'. Can't yell at me." He walked over towards them amid Bumblebee's squeals about Jazz's new form while Zoe joined Sam and Michaela.

Prowl fought back the urge to roll his eyes at the younger bot. He hadn't changed, well…mostly hadn't changed. "Fine." He said finally. "It's time to go. There is a hill around the back of this building that will be the bounce site." He turned towards Optimus and saluted, who returned it with a regal nod of his head.

"Zoe," Optimus turned towards her. He stooped down to hand to her a small box that contained the AllSpark shard Jamie and Prowl had retrieved from Brazil. Also, was the fragment that Optimus had removed from Megatron's chest. It had reconfigured itself into a vague key-like shape, and someone, probably Ratchet, had affixed it to a braid of soft leather so she could wear it, hidden, around her forearm. "Please be careful."

He did not mention that she held the last hope of their kind, nor did he mention that she was a friend and that he cared about her as much as he did the other Autobots. There was an ocean of emotion and thought in just those three simple words, spoken with the elegance and grace of a Prime.

"I will Optimus." She gave him a small bow as Jazz followed Prowl outside, and then she turned towards Ratchet, Ironhide, Bumblebee, Sam and Michaela.

The two humans got to her first. "Have fun," Sam said with a smile as he hugged her. Zoe nodded and hugged Michaela next.

"Hey, sorry I didn't get to know you as much as we should have," Zoe started. "We'll have to hang out when we get back."

The girl nodded. "Yeah, it would be nice to hang out with someone who understands all my auto-babble AND enjoys a manicure." She gave Sam a sidelong glance, who shrugged. Zoe giggled.

"You're on." She started to turn towards the others but found herself swept up in chartreuse hands. Ratchet held her up to his face and hugged her gently. "Be careful Zoe." He said when she wrapped her arms around his features. "Don't go letting those twins get the better of you." He warned. "They're good sparks…just a little rough."

Zoe nodded and filed his advice away as a large finger prodded her in the back. "Hmmph. Just shoot 'em. Easy enough. Bye." He stepped backwards, his dark blue optics glittering.

As Ratchet bent to set her down he whispered something in Zoe's ear quickly, and she smiled nodding a second time to him. "Bye guys. Don't let Ironhide kill Roscoe please." She turned and ran from the barn, and up the hill that overlooked the Boneyard.

Jazz and Prowl were out there already, looking over darkened landscape, speaking to each other in hushed tones. At her approach, they turned towards her.

Prowl nodded to her, "Have you informed the others of your departure?"

"If you mean 'said my goodbyes', then almost." She responded and looked pointedly at Jazz. Prowl took several steps backwards to afford the two a bit of space.

Jazz knelt down in front of her and she jumped up into his arms. The past three days were a cherished memory to each of them, a gift, and although neither was overjoyed with the separation, it was only temporary. Nothing could truly separate them.

After a bit more light banter between them, Zoe picked up her bags, "Ok, NOW I'm ready." An afterthought occurred to her then and she added. "Oh, Jazz. By the way," Zoe said as she leaned towards him a bit. "Don't tell 'Hide we made some high grade. Ratch says to remember the Kremzeek incident and that HE will NOT be the bot to clean up the mess…again."

Overhearing, Prowl suddenly toed the ground. "…erm." When Jazz looked over at him wanting explanation, Prowl suddenly turned and stomped away. "Time to go." He sent a quick message to Arcee, and a bright light washed over them. When it was gone, so were they.

Jazz turned around; headed back into the barn. Without warning, Ratchet ambushed him with the medical scanner. "Jazz!" The medic shouted angrily, red scanning lines playing over Jazz's body. "In the med bay, NOW." He gave Jazz and none-too-gentle shove in that direction. "And tell me exactly HOW you managed to sprain two processors, overload your holomatrix generator, and flood your distribution system!"

Ratchet all but pushed Jazz towards the Med-bay. As they left, Jazz heard Sam's voice. "Hey...what happened to all my dad's camping gear?"

The saboteur winced...Zoe better get back soon.

* * *

Kremzeek - originally was a small yellow electric-shaped monster that Megs and Screamer created. Later it appeared in the comic as the brand of an alcoholic(?) beverage that Ironhide and Prowl would sneak away to drink after work. It was seen in the movie adaptation too, on Sam's desklamp.


End file.
